The Consequences of the US Embargo On Cuba
Since the 1960s, the United States has profoundly influenced the Cuban economy through the implementation of a strict trade embargo. The embargo isolated Cuba from the international economy subsequently shaping Cuba's contemporary economic, societal, and political landscape. The focus of this blog will be to examine the consequences of the US embargo and to discern the impact it has had on Cuban citizens.
In order to determine the impact of the US embargo, it is necessary to understand the reasons behind its implementation. Following the establishment of Fidel Castro's revolutionary socialist state, strong ties between the Soviet Union and Cuba were developed. In a move that certainly aligns with Castro's anti-US beliefs, broad antagonistic policies towards the US were adopted. Included in these policy changes was the nationalization of all foreign assets in Cuba, tax hikes on U.S. imports, and the establishment trade deals with the Soviet Union.(CFR: US-Cuba relations Timeline) By nationalizing former US industry in Cuba and forging a stronger alliance with the Soviet Union, Castro provided the rationale for President Eisenhower to develop a plan for embargoing Cuba-which was carried out by his successor President Kennedy. The embargo shut off trade with the US, severely damaging the Cuban economy, creating a loss of nearly 130 billion dollars since its implementation. (CFR)
Undoubtedly, the economic impact as a result of the US embargo has been felt by the citizens of Cuba. Without the ability to engage in trade with the US or much of the international market, the Cuban currency has seemingly become less valuable than the American dollar to many citizens. As mentioned in the PBS video on Canvas, "Disparities are growing based on who has access to dollars from outside Cuba"(What would an end to the embargo mean for cuba? 4:50). This disparity has created a desire in some Cubans to improve relations with the US in order to overcome economic hardship and disparity. This was a direct answer from Cuban citizens being interviewed in the PBS video titled "What would an end to the embargo mean for cuba?". The struggles of Cuban people to earn a living are in part due to the economic sanctions imposed still by the United States government. Interestingly, the stated desire of regular Cuban people for greater US cooperation contradicts the arguments made in the article "Culture of Cuba: History, People, Society, Beliefs and More". In this piece, the author states that the US sanctions only strengthen anti US sentiment: "The more the United States government tries to strangle the Cuban people with its clearly unsuccessful embargo...the stronger Cubans' commitment to the Revolution grows"(6)
This belief poses an interesting question, is the US sanctions regime against Cuba still necessary? Given that the Cold War is long over and the threat posed by the Soviet Union has been eliminated, are such intense sanctions still required?
Understandably, the US and Cuba will continue to have strong differences in regards to their political systems and government function, however the negative impact of US sanctions in the modern era certainly calls for a reexamination of the policies behind their implementation.
Crucially, is the embargo still justified? To what extent does it only serve to strengthen the resolve of the socialist regime?
I like that you laid out a lot of information about the embargo including the reason for why it was done in the first place and what the consequences have been to Cuba. I also like that you cited a lot of the materials we learned from class. I think your question about whether or not the U.S should still keep the embargo active is an interesting one. And I think the devil is in the details. If we look back at the timeline of U.S - Cuba relations, there has been some ups and downs specifically within the last 25 years. The U.S had listed Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism multiple times and the most recent time being in 2021(CFR). We have other embargoes on countries who we have deemed state sponsors of terrorism. So, in order to keep consistency in our embargoes it would make sense to keep the embargo on Cuba. However, in my opinion I don't know if it is truly necessary at this point. I think it would have been good for the current implications for the embargo to be included in the post that way it can be included in the response to the question.
ReplyDeleteHi Henry!
ReplyDeleteI like the points you make about the embargo, and its history and relevance to world affairs. Regarding the necessity of the embargo, I see it as largely irrelevant. Though Mac makes some interesitng points about Cuba sponsoring terrorism, (which I did not know before reading this) it seems the embargo is mostly punitive at this point. It is as if the United States wants to punish Cuba for not only what they did, but for also what the continue to be. I know that there is a large and politically influential Cuban minority in the country which I have heard has influence over this, and want to punish their former regime for their oppression. Aside from this though, I feel as if there is no point, and allowing people to suffer for these bygone events seems pointless.
With the reinstatement of political relations, it seems only a matter of time until the embargo is removed. I think it's true that reistated trade could benefit the lives of many Cubans across the island, both in the big city and in the rural regions. At this point in Cuban history, the embargo mostly seems to serve a negative view of America and capitalism, pushing public opinion towards clinging to socialist ideals. I would agree that after the end of the Cold War, the main purpose of the embargo seems to have become a moot point. The continuation of trade embargo seems to me to be a double down from the American government of previous policy.
ReplyDeleteWasn't signed in for this comment oops.
DeleteWhile a lot of people have already mentioned the fact that there are many reasons to both maintain and leave the trade embargo still intact and also remove the trade embargo, I do now see a new light on it. Originally I believed that the trade embargo should just stay in place until they are on much better terms with the United States government but now I realize that we give other countries who are much more harmful to the US much more freedom. One of the main reasons why we put an embargo on Cuba was because we didn't want a socialist country being helped by Russia, which was the enemy of the United States. Why was it the enemy? because it was communist. Now that the world has been released from the Cold War trade has reopened with countries that originally were stopped due to the USSR's affiliations with them. Getting to the point, if we allow countries like China to trade with us even though they are arguably a much more communist country and are a much larger threat to America than Cuba ever was, we should allow Cuba to also trade with us. it won't be fully open trade as China does have some sanctions against them in certain markets, some trade should be allowed and would most definitely help the US and Cuba. The help might be equal but it would still be helpful. I also believe that if the US drops its embargo, other countries will increase their amount of trade with Cuba. The only problem is that based on the interviews and such from the readings, I am a bit afraid that the people of Cuba who still support socialism might not take too warmly to it.
ReplyDelete